How to build a military career at the FBI: from applying an fbi resume to being a special agent

The activities of the FBI special agent are connected with the investigation
of crimes and actions that violate federal laws. This work may include
interviews, surveillance, wiretapping, conducting undercover operations, both
in the field and online. Special FBI agents must be prepared to participate in
arrests, raids, searches, and other dangerous activities. They may be involved
in the investigation of large-scale unlawful acts, such as organized crime,
drug trafficking, terrorism or cybercrime.

Obviously, such work creates an increased level of stress, so it is not
suitable for everyone. In addition, the FBI agent’s work week can often be more
than 50 hours (although the standard work week in the United States is 40
hours) and, in fact, even while outside the office, the bureau employee must
answer calls and be in touch 24 hours a day.

How to become an FBI
agent

To try his luck in obtaining this position, the candidate must have a
certain level of education, experience, and a number of mental and physical
qualities.

US citizens are accepted for work at the FBI, at least 23 years old and
no older than 37 years old, with a valid driver’s license and at least six
months of driving experience. It is important that the candidate does not have
problems with the law in the past, because otherwise he will not be able to
pass a suitability test.

The application process takes place on the official website
www.fbijobs.gov. The candidate needs to create an account and provide his fbi resume and other necessary
documents. This includes:

Official or unofficial university certificates

Biographical data in federal resume format

SF-50 for candidates with current or previous federal
experience

DD-214 or service statement for current or former
military personnel

One letter VA and one form SF-15 for disabled veterans

You will also select a field processing office at one of the 56 local
field offices in the USA. This will be the starting location for testing and
interviews. Preparing for an interview will be an additional plus if you write
a cover letter that complies with these federal requirements https://federalresumeguide.com/federal-cover-letter-sample/ However, you need to be
prepared to travel to anywhere in the USA at the later stages of the
application process.

Skills and requirements for an FBI agent

Potential
FBI agents need to have a bachelor’s degree with an overall average score of
3.0 or higher (the highest is 4.0) and a two-year seniority in law enforcement
or other similar field of activity; either a master’s degree or higher and one
year of experience.

Many
agents have academic degrees in criminal law, political science, engineering,
computer science, or accounting. Today, for a potential FBI employee, a great
advantage is knowledge of such foreign languages ​​as Arabic, Farsi, Chinese,
Korean and Russian.

In
addition to education and work experience, candidates must be in good physical
and stable mental condition. The test for the level of physical fitness (PFT)
consists of 4 main points: exercise on the press (maximum number of lifts per
minute), sprint by 300 meters, push-ups (maximum number per minute), cross (2.4
km). Tactical squad employees must also pass a pull-up standard. The test takes
place in one step with intervals of not more than 5 minutes between points.

In
addition, the quality of vision, hearing and the entire medical history of the
candidate will be analyzed by the bureau experts.

As you
can see, the application process is very extensive and, in addition to the
items that we examined, includes interviews, written tests, lie detector tests,
biographical data verification, drug tests, as well as analysis of the
candidate’s labor, criminal and financial history .

Studying at the Academy

Having
successfully passed written tests, interviews, passed physical education
standards and received the approval of the security service, a candidate can
proceed to study at the FBI Academy in Quantico.

This course
must be completed regardless of whether the potential agent has a diploma of
higher education. You can’t become an FBI employee without studying at the
academy.

The
preparatory period lasts 21 weeks, after which the graduate is sent to work in
one of the units. There he will have to go through a trial period of 18 months.

It should
be noted that during training at the academy, candidates are already considered
interns, and therefore they are entitled to a salary of $ 48,973 / year.

FBI salaries

The
salary range for FBI agents is based on the federal government pay scale.

Trainees
starting at GS10 and with salaries of less than $ 50,000 / year can move up to
GS-13 with a salary of $ 76,687 / year over the years, taking a
non-administrative position. Managers, in turn, receive more than $ 120,000 /
year. Taxes will depend on the size of the salary and place of residence and
may be ~ 22-35%.

Above, we
examined the sizes of base salaries, which increase depending on the place of
work (allowance up to 25%) and the number of hours worked (allowance up to
25%). In addition to their salaries, FBI agents are paid health insurance,
leave (the number of days is determined by length of service), sick leave (13
days a year), federal holidays (10 days a year), and after 20 years of service
they are entitled to a pension.

Despite
the fact that the preparation for work and working conditions for FBI agents
are rather difficult, the staff turnover in this organization is low and
amounted to less than 4% last year.

Obviously,
the requirements for FBI agents are much higher than for other law enforcement
officers, because this organization is one of the largest law enforcement
agencies in the world, the activity of which extends to many problems, from
financial crimes to terrorism.